Print edition for February 18, 1998

Prosecution rests after jury watches crime scene video: He could face Florida's electric chair if convicted of first-degree murder for killing the woman. The defense was expected to begin its case Wednesday afternoon.

Rodeo Money Leaders, through Feb. 16: 1, Brad Goodrich, Everett, Wash., $11,140. 2, Trevor Brazile, Decatur, Texas, $11,011.

Mario Finley knows his role: Spencer Patterson; When Las Vegas High's Mario Finley first stepped out on the court for the Wildcats in the winter of 1994, he got rid of the ball as quickly as it came to him.

Second meeting of chemical safety commission to be held Monday: Sierra Chemical makes explosives used in the mining industry.

Columnist Paula Del Giudice: Wolves threatened by judges decision: WOLVES ARE walking free in their historic range in the Northern Rockies, thanks to painstaking work by environmentalists and those who just plain love nature. This majestic animal was reintroduced into central Idaho and Yellowstone National Park in 1995 in what has become an incredible conservation success stories.

Columnist Peter Benton: LVI senior classic starting to take form: Peter Benton; THE FIELD FOR the 13th Las Vegas Senior Classic has been partially set, with headliners such as Jim Colbert, Gibby Gilbert, Charles Coody, Ray Floyd, Al Geiberger, Bruce Crampton and last year's victor, Hale Irwin, already having committed to the April 23-26 event.

Columnist Tim Graham: America's Pastime needs a commissioner: Tim Graham; He calls baseball "relatively healthy."

Report pushes area conservation plan: Defenders of Wildlife looked at national conservation plans, including Clark County's for the threatened Mojave Desert tortoise and the multi-species approach under way on the Lower Colorado River.

Gandhi May Swing India Vote: John Zubrzycki; NEW DELHI -- With voting now under way, opinion polls in India point to another divided parliament, with the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its allies within striking distance of a majority for the first time in India's history.

Police investigate accidental shooting of 10-year-old: Police say the boy's 15-year-old cousin did not know the .38-caliber semiautomatic pistol was loaded when it unexpectedly fired.

Court TV loses Strohmeyer verdict: Bill Gang; It was a marginal victory for the 19-year-old defendant's lawyers, who had been venomous in their attacks on the media coverage of the case since Strohmeyer's arrest May 28.

Commissioners study one-person, one-vote rule: Jeff Schweers; Prompted by that opinion, Malone and fellow Commissioner Erin Kenny said they want to discuss reapportionment as soon as possible and will bring the item up at the March 3 board meeting.

Ideal Drug 'Mules': Young, American Women: Catherine Elton; They were promised $5,000 each to go on an all-expenses-paid trip to Peru and return with the cocaine. And they were told nothing would happen.

UNLV tuning up for 13th-ranked Cal State Fullerton: Coming off a five-game weekend sweep of Nevada-Reno and Southern Illinois, the UNLV baseball team appears to be firing on all cylinders.

Mayor had sought slot license for mall: Denise Cardinal; The strip mall is on Durango Drive and Desert Inn Road, and falls just outside of the city limits. Tenants in the mall include a tavern and convenience store, both of which will have slot machines.

Man killed after fight over $3 debt: Cathy Scott; Sgt. Steve Custer said that several men were taking refuge from the rain under the Interstate 15 overpass about 10:45 p.m. Witnesses told police that one of the men told the victim that he owed him $3. They argued, and the man chased the victim with a steel bar, Custer said. The victim ran onto Sahara Avenue and into the path of a 1989 Dodge Aries, police said.

Wednesday's College Basketball Scores: Adelphi 64, N.J. Tech 46

Preps: Girls Soccer playoffs, results-schedule: Tournament Schedule

DOE scientists will test how water flows from Yucca: The DOE is conducting an intense battery of scientific testing at Yucca Mountain, 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas, to determine if it can contain irradiated commercial fuel and highly radioactive waste from defense activities for thousands of years.

Letter: Elected officials should have to pass lie detectors: I've read or heard that a person who lies all the time will eventually believe that everything he or she says is the truth.

Columnist Elizabeth Foyt: Annual ball is a Heart-felt event: Elizabeth Foyt; Co-chaired by Dr. Leo Spaccavento, president of the Las Vegas Valley Division of the American Heart Association, with his wife Sandy, as well as board trusteee Roger Peltyn and his equally remarkable bride Sandy, the ball filled the sparkling Sunset Ballroom on the upper level of the Flamingo Hilton. Adding to the special mood of the evening was the gracious appearance by Karl Mitchell with his tigers, which gave body to the Chinese observance of the Year of the Earth Tiger. Lending their talents as well to the success of the evening were committee members, including Carolyn Stephens, Gwen Hernandez, ...

Bayno: 'Daniels has emerged as a scorer': Steve Carp; At this point, there aren't a whole lot of changes left to make for UNLV coach Bill Bayno. But he is contemplating returning Greedy Daniels to the starting lineup at the position he began the season -- off-guard.

Wednesday's College Baseball Scores: Alabama 12, Nicholls St. 3

Nevada to add $3.75 million to roads: Transportation Director Tom Stephens said there will be a "town center" stretching about 2 1/2 to three miles from Ann Road to Durango Drive which will include residential and commercial zones along the freeway.

Reining In Ireland's 'Compo Culture': Kevin Rafter; Across the Atlantic, Ireland's Defense Minister Michael Smith sympathizes. In his view, "The compensation culture is eating at the heart of our society."

BLM land acquired for beltway right of way: County Commissioner Bruce Woodbury wasn't present for the vote which took place at Tuesday's meeting.

City Council delays Riverside vote: OliverMcMillan of San Diego and ArtSpace Inc., of Minneapolis, propose converting the Riverside into artist lofts, restaurants and a bookstore. Plans also call for a foreign films theater.

Henderson approves auto shop over protests: Valerie Miller; The Sears, Roebuck and Co. project will be built on 8.5 acres southeast of Sunset Road and the Whitney Ranch housing development. A similar request had already been denied twice by the Henderson Planning Commission, most recently last month.

Gun at Test Site to help evaluate nuclear weapons: The National Shock Compression Facility will house a double-barreled gun used to place nuclear weapons materials under stress, but without the atomic punch. The United States has had a moratorium on nuclear weapons testing since 1992.

LPGA Money Leaders through Feb. 15: LPGA Money Leaders through Feb. 15

Pahrump farmer Andersen dies: "The first time I jumped on my own -- the next 12 times they had to push me out," the native Nevadan often would tell folks.

Lobbyist, public relations jobs replace two street cops: Cathy Scott; Also, a new position is being created at Metro for a "media-type person" in the public information office, Undersheriff Richard Winget said.

Letter: Independent prosecutor statute erodes constitutional protections: The cold war is over, but the Communists have won. We have become them.

For Tijuana's Imagemakers, Name Game Is Serious Business: Howard LaFranchi; But when Mexico's largest producer of television dramas came up with the idea for a soap opera called "Tijuana," the city fathers of this much-maligned border metropolis were not amused.

Letter: Taiwan strives to stop stray dog overpopulation: About three years ago, the Life Conservationist Association of the ROC, in conjunction with the Rotary Club of Taipei Yenping and other organizations, invited the World Society for the Protection of Animals to a seminar discussing the control, protection and care of stray animals. This session led to government legislations on the protection of strays as well as a reduction in the numbers of wild strays through neutering.

WAC projected to send 3 teams to NCAA tourney: Steve Carp; With less than three weeks until postseason are distributed, it's looking like the status quo will prevail in the WAC.

Gibbons warns of military depletion: Denise Cardinal; Recently appointed to the House National Security Subcommittee on Military Procurement, Gibbons held a forum to discuss recent budget cuts in the military and the effects of those cuts on a pending second conflict in the Middle East.

El Nino takes some luster off Sinatra golf tourney announcement: Frank Sinatra's wife, Barbara, was set to fly to Las Vegas from Los Angeles with a group of celebrities involved in the tournament including Paul Anka, Angie Dickinson, Quincy Jones and Gregory Peck.

Editorial: Teachers making a positive impact: Then there is the story of Susan Hutchinson, who was named the Nevada Technology Teacher of the Year by the International Technology Education Association. Hutchinson has taught for 20 years and 14 of those years have been spent at Jim Bridger Middle School. Beyond her talents as an instructor, Hutchinson's devotion to her students shows why she was an obvious choice for the award. "God had a plan for me," she says. "I have no family, no kids of my own, so these kids are my family -- they are my kids."

County spending: * $3.29 million to Granite Construction Co. for 1.25 miles of paving improvements to Vegas Valley Drive between Nellis Boulevard and Treeline Drive.

Gaming profits down in last fiscal year: The Gaming Control Board today released its annual "gaming abstract" for fiscal 1997. The 235 major casinos statewide earned $1.1 billion before federal taxes and expenses, for an 8.3 percent return or profit.

Editorial: Protecting the public's health: It was disclosed last week that potentially dangerous concentrations of methane gas were leaking from the old Sunrise Mountain landfill, which had closed in 1993. Add to the methane gas leak is the situation that the 720-acre site is unlined and may pose a groundwater contamination problem. The landfill is less than two miles from the Las Vegas Wash, which runs into Lake Mead, where Southern Nevada gets 90 percent of its drinking water.

Man defends self in counterfeiting case: Bill Gang; Nelson is defending himself at his trial on scores of counts of possessing counterfeit checks, perhaps because attorneys generally are unwilling to make such accusations.

Three top gaming stocks downgraded due to LV airport concerns: Gary Thompson; Calling it "one of the most significant challenges the city has ever faced," Bear Sterns & Co. Managing Director Jason Ader said Las Vegas must find a way to increase air service to McCarran International Airport.

Denver apathetic to nuke haul: Martin Kuz; DENVER -- By late afternoon Tuesday, the regulars of the Music Bar Lounge have settled onto their seats. At one end of this neighborhood watering hole west of downtown Denver, a TV is tuned to ESPN, as if the Olympics really warrant highlights. At the other, a Jerry Lewis-Dean Martin romp flickers on a second set, as if Nagano isn't bad enough.

Growth panel guide criticized for conflict of interest: Larry Henry; Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, said the nuclear-waste contract poses a potential conflict of interest.

Board delays vote on helping California pay for I-15 project: He said the proposal calls for the state to pay about $10 million of the $153 million cost of widening a 29-mile stretch of the freeway between Barstow and Victorville, Calif.

Aid in solving case pays off for gaming board: Cathy Scott; So Bobby Siller, special agent in charge of the FBI's Las Vegas bureau, on Tuesday handed over more than $322,000 to the Gaming Control Board because of its help in shutting down the illegal gambling business.

Where I Stand -- Brian Greenspun: Saddam keeps pushing U.S. to put its power to use: When President Bill Clinton travelled to the Pentagon for what may be a final briefing before he orders air and other strikes against Iraq, he scheduled a speech to the commanding servicemen and women who work at the nation's seat of military power in the full knowledge that what he said would be transmitted across this country and, of course, monitored closely in other parts of the world. Most notably, Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

City Council retains lawyers in railroad fight: The federal Surface Transportation Board will decide in April whether to increase the speed of trains through downtown Reno from 20 mph to 30 mph.

School's out on hunt for inadequate schools: The state Department of Education held the last of its two workshops where it received suggestions from local school officials on ways to sharpen the language or clear up misunderstandings.

Columnist Steve Carp: Too many games hurts WAC refs: Steve Carp; Before you pooh-pooh that notion, keep in mind that in every endeavor, someone is going to be considered the best. However, the WAC, in its attempt to showcase its best official, may be wearing him out.

Black History Month events: Black History Month events

Obituaries for February 18: He is survived by his wife, H. Patricia; one daughter, Cindy Becker of San Bernardino; two sons, Lloyd "Bud" Anda Jr. of Las Vegas and David Anda of San Bernardino; and three grandchildren.

Sources say Rio eyes sale to REIT: Gary Thompson; The reported asking price is at least $35 to $38 a share, or between $860 million and $935 million. That represents a 30 percent to 40 percent premium over Tuesday's closing price of $26.375 for Rio stock.

Deputy treasurer eyes top job: Krolicki, 37, a Republican, said he regards the job as "hands-on," adding that it requires the level of skill found on Wall Street.

County's Metro budget share rises: Jeff Schweers; The plan proposed to determine how much the county and the city of Las Vegas should pay for the 1998-99 Metro budget is tilted slightly in favor of the city this year, meaning it will pay a lower percentage than last year.

Wednesday's College Hockey Scores: Mass.-Dartmouth 7, Plymouth St. 2

Thursday at Gulfstream Park: 1st race 6 fur 3YO Clm

Senior PGA Tour schedule, through Feb. 15: Jan. 24-25 - Senior Skins Game (Raymond Floyd)

Snow, wet roads cause problems: Tuesday's storm left a blanket of snow and ice on the mountains around the Las Vegas Valley, forcing the closure of Red Rock Canyon scenic loop and State Route 160 for a while.

People in the News for February 18, 1998: A fish called Kevin

TV/sports for Feb. 18-21: THURSDAY

Ralph Siraco's Selections For Thursday at Santa Anita: Selections made for clear racing conditions before scratches.

Winnemucca, Storey County road projects endorsed by state panel: The street, used to reach the post office, hospital, city park, fairgrounds and various public offices in Winnemucca, is now separated by a dirt divider. And one side of the street is higher than the other in some areas, making U-turns impossible.

LPGA Statistics through Feb. 15: Scoring

Tuesday's Zone tournament results: Matt O'Brien; Alex Hernandez didn't come to play Tuesday night -- he came to dominate.

LPGA Tour schedule through Feb. 15: Jan. 21-24 - The Office Depot (Helen Alfredsson)

PGA Tour schedule through Feb. 15: Jan. 8-11 - Mercedes Championships (Phil Mickelson)

Sara Beth Brown appointed to state Economic Development Commission: She will fill the unexpired term of Walt Higgins, former Sierra Pacific Power Co. president, who resigned when he accepted a new job out of state.